UPDATED: December 13, 2016 — The Banks Report has learned that the Ron Tonkin Family of Dealerships is selling to the Gee Automotive Companies in Spokane, WA, confirming rumors the last several months that a sale was in process. An announcement is expected sometime in the next few days. Meanwhile, the deal is expected to close sometime… Continue Reading
Except for a couple of investments from JMI Equity, M&A activity in the automotive retail vendor space has been silent in the fourth quarter. With three weeks left to go in the year, there have been 27 investments or acquisitions among vendors to date. (For more analysis on investment and acquisitions in the automotive retail…
November 28, 2016 — Is a potential battle looming between automakers and tech firms with the government over security issues with over-the-air updates made possible by connected car technology? Billions of dollars are at stake for automakers, technology firms and even dealers, but comments from various government officials over the last several months indicate OTAs… Continue Reading
Dealership buy-sell activity rebounded in September and October following a slow second quarter and should remain brisk for the foreseeable future. With 17 fewer transactions through the end of the third quarter, the 2016 pace is slightly off what was a record year in 2015, according to data compiled for TBR’s 2016 Third Quarter Dealership Buy-Sell Report. (Subscribers…
October 25, 2016 – Automotive retail vendor merger and acquisition activity slowed slightly in the third quarter with only nine deals and investments announced bringing the total for the year to 25, according data compiled by The Banks Report. The third quarter review provides TBR’s outlook for the fourth quarter along with a recap of all…
October 16, 2016 — With eight acquisitions over the last 13 months along with one significant investment that closed in late September, Reynolds and Reynolds quietly has been one of the more active buyers among automotive retail vendors. On the surface, the strategy appears a bit disjointed and is even taking Reynolds outside the confines of the…
September 8, 2016 — CIP Capital, a New York-based private equity company new to the automotive retail space, is putting together a unique strategy acquiring four companies and combining them to create Affinitiv Inc. a new technology marketing firm. While other companies have executed roll up strategies in the past (Cox Automotive, DealerTrack, Dealersocket and HGGC are a few…
September 7, 2016 — TEGNA announced this morning it plans to spin off Cars.com to become its own publicly traded company. The transaction, which likely will be tax free for TEGNA shareholders, should take place in the first half of 2017. TEGNA, which became public last year following the split with media giant Gannett, is one… Continue Reading
August 28, 2016 — Amazon.com surprised the automotive industry last week rolling out Amazon Vehicles, an extension of its Amazon automobiles portal. The question is, how does Amazon’s strategy affect automotive retail? The answer for now is, it doesn’t. But it will depending on what Amazon’s next move is. The initiative is the first step of a…
August 12, 2016 — Perhaps the most striking data point from CDK Global’s recent earnings filing is that it is gaining share of the overall North American dealer management system market while also growing the average amount from those contracts. CDK also announced strong results for its 2016 fiscal year along with an agreement with activist investor Elliott Partners to increase the… Continue Reading
